TREC Education Requirements, Where is the Logic?

Recent action by the Texas Real Estate Commission Inspector Advisory Committee (IAC) suggests that limiting the number of education hours accepted for the various education categories during each licensing cycle is of greater importance than reducing the fraud that surrounds the online education classes.

While TREC has placed much emphasis on teaching the frequently asked questions (FAQ’s), and has required these FAQ’s be taught as a prerequisite for education course approval, TREC has required the teaching of FAQ’s that were asked and answered as they applied to any earlier version of the Inspectors’ Standards of Practice (SoP).

If FAQ’s are so important, why is the importance of the ‘Round Table’ discussions that occur at trade organizations seminars, that are so sought after and valuable, of so little value to TREC that the Commission would seek to limit the number of education hours able to be obtained and credited to an Inspector?

Simply put, if an Inspector feels that he/she is ‘weak’ in the electrical inspection portion of the inspection and wants to increase their knowledge base and to learn how and what other Inspectors are inspecting and how they are reporting deficiencies and/or conditions, the Inspector should not be penalized by TREC limiting the number of education hours he/she will receive credit for.

Back to the online education courses for Inspectors…

There is no limit to the number of hours that can be taken online. All 32 hours can be taken online and credited toward the Inspector’s education cycle requirements. This, in spite of the fact that one of the IAC members admitted that he had taken 16 hours of online courses in less than two hours. Others have claimed to have received credit for an 8 hour course in just 20 minutes.

So… Is TREC going to ignore all this and force its hand on trade organizations or will they deal with the online education fraud and have updated and relevant FAQ’s available before limiting education credits allowed in any given arena/discipline?

When an Inspector is disciplined by TREC for overlooking or misinterpreting a defect in a home, TREC has the option of requiring additional education hours be obtained by that Inspector, in that category of inspection. For the life of me, I can’t understand how TREC would discourage an Inspector from obtaining additional education hours on his/her own, when the Inspector feels the need, yet requires the Inspector to take those very same courses once something is overlooked or misinterpreted during an inspection.